Yarn feeding apparatus



July 30, 1963 R. J. LAURETl 3,099,125

YARN FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. '1, 1960 2 Sheets$heet 1 FIG. l.

i .3 i 76 .4;: A I I as INVENTOR. REMO J. LAURETI iv, Lie? ATTORNEY y 30, 1963 R. J. LAURETI 3,099,126

ARN FEEDI ARATU 2 Sheets-Sheet United States Patent Jersey Filed Oct. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 61,153 3 Claims. (tli. 57-58.?)

This invention relates to a feeding apparatus for the feeding of yarn and the like to twisting machines.

In the art of ropemaking considerable use is made of twisting machines, as for example, in the forming of strands by the twisting together of a plurality of individual yarns or in the forming of yarns by the twisting together of a plurality of filaments. One :form of twister well known in the art 'forms strands, for example, by whirling a supply of yarns, in a manner similar to the action of a jumping rope, to twist the individual yarns together to form a strand. Since the feed to the strand package (i.e. the output of the twister) must be at a constant rate, it will be apparent that the whirling action of the twister causes a tension load to be applied to the portion of the yarn being fed to the twister (i.e. the input to the twister) by reason of the centrifugal force which causes the yarn to balloon. The term Tballoon is used in the art to describe the shape defined by the whirling portion of the yarn, filament or strand within the twister. In order for the twister to operate efiiciently, it is necessary that the balloon size be maintained at an optimum size for a twister speed which will cause the strands to be tor-med quickly. If the balloon size were too large there would be a danger of contact with objects nearby which could cause breakage of the strands. Since the spinner speed of a twister of this type is generally of the order of 23% to 5500 revolutions per minute, the balloon size would be excessively large onless a considerable restraining force were applied to the portion of the yarn being fed to the twister.

In the prior art feeding devices, this restraining force is applied by various forms of spring tension devices. However, these devices are unsatisfactory since the tension required to permit running of the twister at a high speed is considerable. Thus, by providing a high tension on the input portion of the yarn, when the twister is started up the sudden driving force applied to the yarn by the twister driving capstans causes the yarn to snap or rub against various parts of the twister, such as guides, to damage the yarn and possibly cause it to break by reason of this damage.

One way of avoiding the above damage problems is to apply a small tension at the start and then increase the tension as the speed of the twister increases. However, this is bothersome to the operator and is quite difiicult to accomplish with spring tension devices. Moreover, different operating tensions are required for different operating speeds which complicates matters. Another disadvantage is that it is not always possible to change the tension quickly enough and at the proper time with the result that, before the operating tension is applied, the balloon will grow to a size to actuate the tripping lever which stops the twister when the balloon is oversize. Thus, this mode of operation is unsatisfactory.

It is the general object of this invention to avoid the ice 2 foregoing problems of feeding yarn and the like to machines of the indicated type.

Another object of this invention is to provide a feeding apparatus for teeding yarn and the like to devices of the indicated type which .feeding apparatus controls both the tension and the feed to the device.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FiGURl-E 1 is an elevaticnal view of a feeding apparatus in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the feeding apparatus shown in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic showing of a twister to which the feeding apparatus in accordance with this invention is applicable.

While the following description is directed to the forming of a three-ply strand by the twisting together of three individual yarns, it will be apparent that the feeding apparatus in accordance with this invention is adaptable tor the feeding of other similar cordage. For example, the feeding apparatus in accordance with this invention may be used to feed filaments to a twister for the formation of yarns.

The feeding apparatus in accordance with this invention comprises a pair of capstans 10 and 12 keyed to shafts 14 and 1-6, respectively, journalled in a support member 18. Pixedly mounted on the ends of shafts 14 and 16 are gears 20 and 22, respectively. A pinion 24 is fixedly mounted on a drive shaft 26 and serves to drive the gears 29 and 22 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 1. The shaft 26 and pinion 24 are driven in the direction of the arrow shown in 'FIGURE 2 by a. suitable variable driving means 28. Driving means 28 may be of any suitable type such as, for example, an electrically controlled driving means or a variable mechanical driving means. Such driving means are well known in the art and further description thereof is not deemed necessary herein. The driving means 28 in accordance with this invention is preferably an electrically controlled driving means having a rheostat 30 for controlling the speed of the driving means and hence the shaft 26.

The supply of yarn comprises three packages 32, 34, and 36, each including a spool 38 having yarn 40 wound tlereon. Spools 3-8 are rotatably mounted on rods 42 which are fixedly mounted in a supporting member 44. Spools 38 are retained on rods 42 by suitable retainers 46. A pair of horizontally extending pins 48 and 50 are provided for guiding the yarn from each of the packages 32, 34 and 36 to the oapstans l0 and 12. The upper pins 50 are at difierent levels as shown in {FIGURE 1 to prevent tangling of the individual yarns 52, -54 and 56 passing from the supply packages -32, 34 and 36, respectively. The yarns pass from all axial points of the wound portion to as the yarn is unwound as is well known in the art.

Each of the capstans 1% and 12 has three pairs of circumferential grooves 6i and 62, 64 and 66, and 68 and 7t); 72 and 74, 76 and 78, and and 82, respectively. The grooves are adapted to receive the yarns 52, 54 and 56 which pass substantially, horizontally from pins 50 to capstans 10 and 12. Grooves 60 to 79- are in approximate alignment with grooves 72 to 32, respectively, as is shown in FIGURE 2. Yarn 52 passes from the winding 41} of supply package 32 about corresponding pins 48 and 50, through groove 60 across the upper portion of capstan 10, into groove 72 and approximately halfway around capstan 12, into groove 62 at the lower portion of capstan and approximately halfway around capstan 10, through groove 74 at the upper portion of capstan 12 and into a compression type forming guide 84. Yarn 54 passes from the winding .8 of supply package 34 about the corresponding pins 48 and Sit, through groove 64 across the upper portion of capstan 11 into groove 76 at the upper portion of capstan 12 and approximately halfway around capstan 12, into groove 66 at the lower portion of capstan 1t? and approximately halfway around capstan Iii, through groove 78 across the upper portion of capstan 12 into the guide 84. Yarn 56 passes from the winding 40 of supply package 36 about the corresponding pins 48 and 59, through groove 68 across the upper portion of capstan 10, into groove 80 at the upper portion of capstan 12 and approximately halfway around capstan 12 into groove 70 at the lower portion of capstan 10 and approximately halfway around capstan 10, through groove 82 across the upper portion of capstan 12, and into the guide 84. The forming guide 84 condenses the yarn so that they are fed into the twister as as a three-ply strand at 88.

The twister 86 is of the type which whirls or spins the yarn to provide the desired twist. This type of twister is well known in the art and may be purchased in the open market. Since twisters of the indicated type are well known, a detailed description thereof is not deemed necessary and it is believed that a brief description of the cord flow diagram of this twister, as shown in FIGURE 3, will be sufiicient.

Referring to FIGURE 3, the three-ply strand 88 passes from guide 84 into a central longitudinal passageway 90 in a spinner 92 and to the exterior thereof through a lateral passageway 94. Strand 88 then passes across the exterior of the spinner 92 for engagement with an eccentric shoulder 98 formed on spinner 92. Strand 88 then passes across a cone-shaped fiyer disc 98 and, when the twister is inoperative, across a circular guard 1% which, along with disc 98, prevents contact by the strand with the operative parts of the twister 86. Strand 88 then passes into the central passageway of an apex guide 102, around a pulley 1'34, onto dual capstans 1% and 188 which serve to feed the completely twisted strand at the desired rate of a packaging mechanism. The twisted strand 88 is fed from capstans 106 and 103 about a plurality of pulleys 110 to 116, and through an opening in the end of a reciprocally moving traverse guide arm 12% from which the twisted strand 88 is wound onto a spool 122 to form a package 124 as the arm 123' moves across the package 124. Pulley 111 is movably mounted and is biased to ward the left as viewed in FIGURE 3 by a tension spring 118. Pulley 111 and spring 118 maintain the portion of the twisted strand 88 passing between capstans 1% and 108 and package 124 taut and serve as a tension compensator. Pulleys 114, 115 and 116 are movable to serve as a traverse compensating means as is well known in the art. Since the packaging apparatus of thistype are well known, further description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

In the operation of the twister, the capstans 106 and 108 are driven at a constant speed to thereby pull the strand 88 through the apex guide 162 at a constant rate. The capstans 106 and 1513 are geared positively to the driving means for the spinner 92 and the flyer disc 98 to thereby provide a uniform twist on the completed strands. As spinner 92 and flyer disc 98 rotate, the three individual yarns are wound together to form a strand.

It will be apparent that as the spinner 92 and flyer disc 98 rotate, the strand 8% will be whirled whereby a centrifugal force is applied thereto tocause the strand to balloon. The balloon may take various sizes and shapes as is indicated at and 132 in FIGURE 3. Since the delivery end of the strand 8% is engaged by the capstans 106 and 168 and cannot absorb the ballooning movement of the strand 83, the supply end of strand 88, i.e. individual yarns 52, 545 and 56, must account for this outward movement or ballooning of the strand 88. The ballooning resulting from the centrifugal force thus has the effect of applying a tension load to the supply end of strand 88. If this tension load were not counteracted, the balloon size would quickly become very large. Hence, some means must be provided to restrict the efiect of the centrifugal force and thus control the size of the balloon. It is apparent that the greater the speed of the whirling strand 88, the greater will be the centrifugal force and hence the greater the tension load applied to the supply end of the strand 88.

The capstans 10 and 12 provide means for compensating for the tension load applied to the strand supply by the ballooning of the twister and for feeding the supply of yarn to the twister. The capstans 10 and 12 feed individual yarns 52, 54 and 56 into the twister 86 by frictional contact therewith at the grooves of} to 82. The grooves 66 to 82 have a smooth surface for frictional contact with the yarn 52 to provide a slipping drive between the capstans 1t and 12 and the yarns 52, 54 and 56 when there is no tension applied thereto. The slipping drive is such that when the twister is not operating so that there will be no tension load applied to the yarn from the twister, the capstans 10 and 12 will not be able to feed the yarns toward the twister 86 there being no frictional force on the yarns. However, as the tension load is applied to the yarn supply by the capstans 1% and 1% as the twister operates to pull the yarn toward the right as viewed in the drawings, the frictional contact between the yarns and the capstans 1e and 12 will be increased by reason of the manner in which the yarn is wound about the capstans. Thus, as the yarn is pulled to the right, it will tend to tighten about capstans 10 and 12 and increase the driving frictional contact therewith. The driving frictional contact between the capstans 1t and 12 and the yarns quickly builds up to the point at which there is a positive drive, i.e. the yarns will be fed at the velocity at the periphery of the capstans 10 and 12. This is the maximum velocity at which the capstans alone can feed the yarns to the twister.

It will be apparent that in order to prevent slack from being formed in the feed line to the twister, the twister will be operated at a speed greater than the speed of the supply capstans 10 and 12. Hence, after reaching the point of positive feed of the capstans 1t and 12, the yarns will slip thereabout by reason of the pulling action of the twister. It will be apparent that the frictional drag applied to the yarns by reason of this slippage counteracts the tension load applied to the yarns by the centrifugal action of the twister. The tension load applied to the yarns by the centrifugal action of the twister is partially taken up by the frictional contact of the yarns with various parts of the twister such as guide 102, flyer disc 93, spinner92 and by the guide 84. However, there is a tension load applied to the supply of yarn, that is the yarns to the left of the guide 84. The capstans 10 and 12 serve to take up this tension load to maintain an equilibrium condition in which the velocity of the yarns being delivered from the capstans 104 and 106 is equal to the velocity of the yarns being delivered to the guide 84. This condition is attained by reason of the frictional contact between the supply yarns and the capstans 10 and 12 during the slippage of yarns about the periphery of these capstans. The frictional contact provides frictional drag retarding the yarns at the supply end from being pulled toward the twister under the influence of the tension load caused by the centrifugal force thereof. The frictional drag results from the winding of the yarns about the capstans so that as the yarns are pulled toward the twister, they will frictionally contact the surface of the capstans and tend to tighten thereabout. This action will be apparent from a consideration of FIGURES 1 and 2.

It is apparent that the speed of the capstans and 12 must be set to provide the proper amount of frictional drag, i.e. so that the size of the balloon will be such that it will not contact either the tripping lever of the twister or rub against the guard 100. The speed of the capstans 10 and 12 for a particular twister speed and type of yarn may be experimentally determined.

When the twister is not operating, the balloon shape is partially maintained by the flyer disc 98 and the guard 100. When the twister is operating, spinner 92 and flyer disc 98 serve to automatically control the size of the balloon to prevent any progressive build-up or decrease of the balloon size. A larger balloon increases the air friction and the drag to cause the balloon to tend to lag behind the flyer disc 98 to thereby cause additional wraparound the eccentric shoulder 96. This additional wraparound the eccentric shoulder 96 of spinner 92 increases the tension to thereby tend to decrease the balloon. This construction is part of the twister and is well known in the art.

In the operation of the apparatus in accordance with this invention, the variable speed driving means 28 is first made operative and set to a predetermined speed by the control 30 to cause rotation of the capstans 10 and 12 at a predetermined yarn driving speed. The setting of the control 39 may have been previously determined for a particular twister operating speed and type of yarn. With the twister inoperative, there will be insuificient frictional contact between the yarn and capstans 10 and 12 to effect any feeding and the capstans 10 and 12 will merely rotate without feeding the yarn. This mode of operation is essential since any feed of the yarn efore operation of the twister to take up the yarn will result in the formation of an undesired loop of yarn.

Next, the twister is made operative and set to the desired operating speed. As the dual capstans 106 and 108 begin to pull the yarn and the spinner 92 whirls the yarn to form the balloon, a tension load will be applied to the yarn delivery side of the capstans 10 and 12 to increase the frictional contact between the yarns 52, 54 and 56 and the capstans 10 and 12 whereby yarn is fed from the supply packages to the twister 86 by the capstans 10 and 12.

The problem of breakage of the yarn upon starting up the twister is avoided by the feeding apparatus in accordance with this invention. As soon as the twister is started and a tension is applied to the yarn at the delivery side of capstans 1i) and 12, the capstans 16 and 12 will be effective to feed yarn toward the twister by reason of the frictional driving contact therebetween. Hence, there will not be any substantial resisting force to snap the yarn.

The twister will, of course, have to build up to its operating speed from a stationary position. During this build-up, the capstans 10 and 12 will supply yarn to the twister at an increasing rate in accordance with the increasing frictional driving contact between the yarn and the capstans until a positive drive is reached. As the delivery speed of the twister increases past the speed of the capstans 10 and 12, the yarn will begin to slip about the capstans in a forward direction. This slippage causes a frictional drag which will counteract the tension load provided by the twister.

For a particular speed of the capstans 10 and 12 and of the twister an equilibrium condition is attained. This equilibrium condition results when the frictional drag applied to the yarns by the capstans 10 and 12 is equal to the tension load applied to the yarns by the centrifugal action to the twister.

It will be apparent that various modifications may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts Without departing from the scope of the invention wherefore it is not desired to be limited except as required by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a supply of yarn, apparatus for twisting said yarn including means for whirling said yarn to form a balloon-shaped portion thereof and to apply a tension load thereto, capstan means for feeding said yarn by frictional contact therewith and for applying a restrictive tension thereto in opposition to said tension load of said twisting apparatus, said yarn passing from said supply to said feeding means and to said twisting apparatus, said yarn passing around said capstan feeding means for frictional contact therewith to increase said frictional contact and to tend to bind thereon upon the application of a tension load to said yarn by said twisting apparatus, and means for varying the rotative speed of said capstan means to vary said restrictive tension.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said capstan feeding means is constructed with a feeding surface to provide a slipping feed to said yarn, said capstan feeding means and said yarn having a non-feeding frictional contact when no tension is applied to said yarn.

3. In combination, a supply of yarn, apparatus for twisting said yarn including means for whirling said yarn to form a balloon shaped portion thereof and to apply a tension load thereto, and a yarn tensioning and feeding device having capstan means for feeding and applying a restrictive tesion to said yarn by frictional contact therewith including a pair of capstans, said yarn passing from said supply to said feeding means and to said twisting apparatus, said yarn passing around said pair of capstans for frictional contact therewith to increase said frictional contact upon the application of :a tension load to said yarn, said capstan feeding means having a feeding surf-ace providing a slipping feed to said yarn, said caps-tan feeding means and said yarn having a non-feeding frictional contact when no tension is applied to said yarn by said whirling means and means for varying the speed of said pair of capstans to vary the restrictive tension load applied to the yarn in oppositionto the tension load of the twisting apparatus.

4. A combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein said pair of capstans have grooves therein for guiding said yarn and providing areas of frictional contact between said yarn and said capstans.

5. A combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein said yarn passes from said supply across one of said capstans around the other of said capstans for frictional contact therewith, around said one capstan for frictional contact therewith and through a groove in said other capstan to said twisting apparatus.

6. A combination as claimed in claim 3 wherein said supply of yarn comprises a rotatably mounted spool having said yarn wound thereon.

7. In combination, :a supply of yarn, apparatus for twisting said yarn including means for whirling said yarn to form a balloon-shaped portion thereof and to apply a tension load thereto, capstan means for feeding said yarn by frictional contact therewith, said yarn passing from said supply to said feeding means and to said twisting apparatus, said yarn passing around said capstan feeding means for frictional contact therewith to increase said frictional contact and to tend to bind on said feeding means upon the application of tension load to said yarn, and means for driving said capstan feeding means at a variable speed to vary the feed of said yarn to the machine, said twisting apparatus comprising a positive drive means for delivering the twisted yarn from said twisting apparatus, said capstan feeding means being driven at a peripheral velocity less than the delivering velocity of said positive drive means to cause the yarn to slip about said capstan feeding means to thereby apply a restrictive tension to the yarn in opposition to the tension load of said twisting apparatus.

8. In combination, a supply of yarn, apparatus for twisting said yarn including means for whirling said yarn to form a balloon-shaped portion thereof and to apply a tension load thereto, and a yarn tensioning and feeding device having capstan rne'ans for feeding and applying a restrictive tension to said yarn by frictional contact therewith including a pair of capstans, said yarn passing from said supply to said feeding means and to said twisting apparatus, said yam passing around said pair of capstans for frictional contact therewith to increase said frictional contact upon the application of a tension load to said yarn, and means for varying the speed of said pair of :capstans to vary the restrictive tension load applied to the yarn in opposition to the tension load of the twisting apparatus, said pair of capstans having grooves therein References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,435,789 Bachman Nov. 14, 1922 1,500,296 Bachman Mar. 3, 1923 1,961,952 Andrew June 5, 1934 2,783,608 Hasler Mar. 5, 1957 2,830,431 Klein Apr. 15, 1958 2,921,429 Haugwitz Jan. 19,1960 

1. IN COMBINATION, A SUPPLY OF YARN, APPARATUS FOR TWISTING SAID YARN INCLUDING MEANS FOR WHIRLING SAID YARN TO FORM A BALLOON-SHAPED PORTION THEREOF AND TO APPLY A TENSION LOAD THERETO, CAPSTAN MEANS FOR FEEDING SAID YARN BY FRICTIONAL CONTACT THEREWITH AND FOR APPLYING A RESTRICTIVE TENSION THERETO IN OPPOSITION TO SAID TENSION LOAD OF SAID TWISTING APPARATUS, SAID YARN PASSING FROM SAID SUPPLY TO SAID FEEDING MEANS AND TO SAID TWISTING APPARATUS, SAID YARN PASSING AROUND SAID CAPSTAN FEEDING MEANS FOR FRICTIONAL CONTACT THEREWITH TO INCREASE SAID FRICTIONAL 